| Church Hill cottages |
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| When the
Great War began on August 3rd 1914, for George Hume the thought of going to war
may have been a long way off. He was living in Union Street in Barking with his
wife and five children. He was a labourer and had had family connections with
the parishes of Stock and Buttsbury. |
| Researching
the 1901 Census shows that George’s father Charles was a horseman on a
farm, Mary his mother as was traditional at the time looked after family home
and brought up the children. In addition to George there was brother Fred and
sister Rose. Fred was nineteen so old enough to work and was a groom so
followed his father’s footsteps, Rose was only eleven. By the time of the
1901 Census, George was twenty two and married to Emma and living away from
home and by 1904 he had a family. Alfred was born in 1904, Joseph (1906), John
(1909), Rosie (1912) and Fred (1914). |
| In December
1915 George was 38 years old when he joined up Woolwich. His attestation papers
(joining forms) show that he was only in for the ‘duration of the
war’. He went into the reserve but was mobilised 29th August 1916 and sent
to France a day later. 81603 George Hume was in the Machine Gun Corps, and on
28th November 1917 George was wounded in the field and sent to hospital and did
not return to join his unit until three weeks later. In Feb 1918 he had two
weeks leave and this would have been the last time he saw his family. He was
fortunate to be granted such leave as the last German great push of the war
occurred in March 1918, and it was well known that the granting of leave was a
lottery. |
| By this time
George was a member of the 62nd Battalion MGC which was attached to the West
Riding Division in turn this was part of VI corps and at the time of his death
they were involved in the final advance in Picardy and his last action may well
have been in the Battle of the Sambre 4th November 1918. |
| George died
of wounds 5th November 1918 just a few days before the Armistice was signed, he
was 40 years old. He was buried in Awoingt British Cemetery which was opened in
last half of October 1918 and used until the middle of December. Awoingt is a
village some 3 kilometres east-south-east of Cambrai. |
| After the
war, Emma completed forms to for the Ministry of Pensions and subsequently was
awarded 37/11d (about £1.87) for her and her five children per week. She
also received a memorial scroll and plaque (also known as a ‘death
penny’) from the King via the Machine Gun Corps in honour of her
husband’s sacrifice. |
| George
Hume’s Medal Index Card, which can be viewed at the Public Record Office
in Kew, shows he was awarded the British War Medal, and the Victory Medal,
these would have been sent to Emma. |
| In 1920
George’s name was included on the wooden memorial inside Buttsbury Church,
alongside others of his generation from the parish who fell. |
| Currently
George is remembered on the Buttsbury Memorial, but not
the Stock War Memorial. |